Heading into the 2014 NFL Draft on May 8, we'll be profiling some of the top players that project to be a good fit with for the New England Patriots. The series continues today with Minnesota safety Brock Vereen. Click here to see the full series.

Perhaps the No. 1 quality that best describes Minnesota safety Brock Vereen is that he's the type of player that fans don't like their teams to draft -- and the Patriots keep going back to: the undersized pseudo-cornerback.

It's hard to ignore Vereen's connection so far to New England. His brother, Shane, plays running back there and he's already met with the team during the pre-draft process.

Then there's his build. Vereen is more of a cornerback-safety hybrid than the linebacker-safety hybrid that makes for a much sexier pick on draft day. It may be tempting to hope for the next Rodney Harrison to come to town or for the Patriots to pick up the next Ed Reed in his prime. But if the players continue to look at players like Vereen, then it looks like the Patriots will be filling their safety position with players that project closer to the like of Devin McCourty and Steve Gregory.

Prospect Breakdown

Vereen fits that McCourty/Gregory mold in terms of build and athleticism. The former cornerback prospect has already made the transition to safety, something that the 2013 Patriots safeties didn't do until they reached the pros. Vereen is a little bigger than his potential predecessors. He's got a little less than an inch over McCourty and about 14 pounds on Gregory, going by their weights heading into the draft.

In terms of raw speed and quickness, Vereen is a notch below McCourty, easily the best athlete of the three. Vereen's 40-yard dash (4.47 vs. McCourty's 4.48 at the combine) and three-cone drill (6.90 vs. McCourty's 6.70 at the combine) are certainly up there, showing he's got the athleticism to be an undersized NFL safety. But what it'll come down to for Vereen is how instinctive his is in the pass game and how well he can cover up his flaws in the run game.

At the very least, Vereen is versatile. He lines up everywhere from classic split-safety to down in the box. He also lined up as a slot defender and an outside cornerback. Despite his potential for range playing center field in a defense, Vereen didn't see much time in a single-high safety role with the Gophers. Although, he did drop back into a deep third over the middle at times from a split-safety look. He also blitzed from the slot with average effectiveness.

As expected from a cornerback/safety, Vereen played a lot of man coverage at Minnesota, something that NFL teams are coming to covet more and more in today's defenses. However, he tended to be pretty hit or miss there. He'll stick with his man, but doesn't really blanket them all to often (Examples: vs Syracuse, vs Iowa). Against Iowa, he got beat quite a bitlate in the game, but that likely had a lot to do with the knee injury he suffered in the second quarter.

Getting beat in man coverage while hurt isn't that much of a concern. However, it does show some great qualities for Vereen. The senior was often lauded as a leader on the defense and stayed on the field, even coming up with one of the biggest plays of the game for Minnesota.

On this play in the fourth quarter, Vereen lines up as one of two deep safeties before dropping back into a deep third zone in what appears to be a fire zone blitz (five-man rush, three short defenders, three deep defenders). Vereen reads the quarterback's eyes and jumps the route of the receiver running the post. It's the type of instinctive play that McCourty made a lot when he was still adjusting to the safety role during his transition for cornerback. Vereen still has a ways to go in coverage, but he shows potential for some big plays back there.

An encouraging sign from him is how instinctive he is in picking up screens and quick plays out in the flat. The problem is that he doesn't slash or shed through blocks well, he has a tendency to get soaked up by blockers (Examples: vs Syracuse, vs Syracuse).

What will likely attract teams to Vereen is his onfield awareness. He's an instinctive and disciplined player. He plays his assignment and doesn't get thrown off by too many fakes or, say, fake field goals. Vereen's not a gamechanger for a defense -- nor does he have to be. He has the potential to be a quality player that holds down the foundation of a defense for those guys.

Where would he fit in New England?

The Patriots lost an undersized safety in Gregory. Adding Vereen would be a low-cost solution for filling that void.

A probable late-round pick, Vereen wouldn't be counted upon too much to play safety as a rookie. However, his work on special teams at Minnesota would help him get on the field early and solidify a roster spot. If the coaching staff likes he play on special teams enough, Vereen could end up being an upgrade over Nate Ebner as a special teams player since he has some real coverage chops that could develop in the Patriots' system.

Vereen's not a starter right now. But if he finds the right role in Bill Belichick's defense, he could develop into a solid coverage safety.

Where could the Patriots draft him?

Barring a repeat of a Duron Harmon-level surprise pick, Vereen won't be coming off the board until Day 3. Round 4 would be a bit of a stretch, but not unthinkable. Since the Patriots don't have a pick in Round 5, they could potentially grab him at a great value in Round 6 if he falls.